While the present invention may have multiple applications, the most prevalent is for use in automobiles. An increasing number of automobiles have airbag crash systems. An airbag is typically located on the steering wheel facing the driver. The airbag must be in continuous electrical connection with sensors in the car body which provide an electrical signal to the airbag crash assembly which instantly inflates the airbag in the event of a crash. Clocksprings are found in virtually every vehicle to electrically connect rotating devices in the steering column to stationary components in other parts of the vehicle.
Because of the large number of types and models of vehicles, oftentimes, minor modifications are necessary to the clockspring so that it matches the requirements of the corresponding vehicle. Usually, these differences are in mounting styles, connector styles, or the number of circuits within the clockspring. Differences in any one of these features up to now has required a complete redesign of the entire clockspring, resulting in higher costs and longer lead times for the production of the clockspring.
The present invention provides a modular clockspring that may be used in different vehicles, by changing any one of the modules on the clockspring to meet the particular vehicle requirements. Clocksprings having multiple modules are not new in the art. U.S. Pat. No. 5,226,831 to Horiuchi and U.S. Pat. No. 5,286,219 to Ueno et al. disclose such clocksprings. However, these clocksprings have multiple modules to facilitate their assembly, and have generally been designed to limit the number of modules in order to keep the assembly process simple. For example, Horiuchi states in the Summary of the Invention, that an object of the invention is to “permit easy installation of the flat cable connecting portions to cases and which has [a] minimized number of required parts.” The prior art clocksprings were not designed with the intent of having modules capable of being easily modified to accommodate specific functional and design needs of multiple vehicles.